A Girl Thing
by kennagirl
Summary: Or, why Severus tried out for the Slytherin Quidditch team.


_**A/N: It's Mary's Annual Birthday Fic! AKA, the time when I go against my shipping nature and write whatever she requests. Because I'm just that good of a friend. Also, written in under an hour and drastically unbeta'd. Please be kind.**_

* * *

"Lily!"

Defense Against the Dark Arts had just released and Lily was walking quickly down the corridor. What she failed to notice was her best friend trying to get her attention a few steps behind her.

"Lily!"

She kept walking.

"Lily Marie Evans!"

Finally, she turned around. When her eyes found Severus, she stopped and waited for him to catch up. "Hey Sev," she said, smiling. "What do you need?"

"I was just wondering if you wanted to meet tomorrow to study for the Herbology exam?" he said. "I know it's not until next Thursday, but I have the weekend free and—"

"Actually, tomorrow's not good." She looked a little embarrassed and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. "Shelley and I are going to the Ravenclaw Quidditch tryouts to support Alice."

"Oh." There went his plans for having a little alone time with her for the first time in their third year. "I could come too and we could study after? I'm sure Alice wouldn't mind another personal fan in the stands." Severus forced himself to smile at that. He and Alice weren't enemies, but they weren't necessarily friends either. Also, he was pretty sure Shelley hated him.

Still, Lily looked awkward. "It's, um, look Sev, you know you're my best friend, right?" And there it was. He had come to dread that sentence because it usually meant he was being left behind or something else he wouldn't like. Still, he nodded. "This is kind of a girl thing. We've got plans afterward."

Severus wasn't stupid. A 'girl thing' was Lily's polite way of saying she was getting together with her friends to gossip about boys. If they were doing it at the Ravenclaw tryouts, it most likely meant Christopher Morris. He didn't quite understand what was so fascinating about the fifth year to all the younger women of Hogwarts, but they were always talking about his dancing or the way he handled the Quaffle. As far as he could tell, Morris was a pretty face on a broom, no better than Potter.

His less-than-charitable thoughts were the only explanation he had for the words that came out of his mouth when Lily suggested, "...could meet on Sunday?"

"Can't, I'm trying out for Slytherin Seeker."

The silence suspended between them like drifting puffapod spores. Lily arched an eyebrow. "Really."

"Yes, really." Might as well carry it out. "I thought it sounded like fun."

"Sev, you hate Quidditch."

_Damn_. "Dumbledore is always talking about house unity, and this is the best way to unify with my house, so..."

Lily still looked skeptical. "In that case, I'll be there bright and early Sunday morning cheering you from the stands." She smiled, not quite reaching her eyes. "See you then!" she said, heading down the passage that carried her back to Gryffindor tower.

Severus leaned his head against the stone wall. He hadn't actually planned on trying out. Telling Lily he didn't make the team, absolutely, but that was the truth even if he didn't show up on the pitch. This would not end well.

* * *

As he predicted, the tryouts had gone horribly. The broom had bucked him off at first and then he ended up taking a Bludger to the ribs about three times before the other Seeker hopeful found the Snitch. Severus was limping up to the castle, occasionally firing small jinxes at the rocks in the path to take out his frustrations.

"Severus!"

Internally groaning, he turned and faced Lily, running up the path towards him. He had hoped that she missed his spectacularly failures, but it seemed to be no use. Like a good friend, she had shown up.

"How are you feeling?"

"Sore," he said honestly. If he had tried to play it up with a macho act, she would have seen right through it.

"I'm not surprised," she said. "That Cleansweep looked like it threw you hard. You never did have the best control of a broom." She smiled at him, because they both knew he was bad, but she was even worse. "So now I'm wondering why you even tried out."

"Seemed like the thing to do," he said, firing a Knockback Jinx at a stone the size of his fist. It rolled down the edge of the hill.

"Does this have anything to do with Shelley and I hanging around the Ravenclaw tryouts yesterday?" He tried to pull a lie together quickly, but she cut him off. "Don't even try to lie to me. You know I don't like that."

Keeping his eyes downcast, he answered, "Yes."

"Why?" He took a breath. "No lies."

He let it out. Thought. Rolled the words around in his head. "Figured if there was something so special about broomheads like Morris, I might as well try to catch some of that while I could," he muttered.

They kept walking in silence before Lily reached out and smacked the back of his head.

"Hey!" Severus rubbed gently at the spot. "I'm already injured."

"Don't be a dummy, then," she said. "Shelley was the one that wanted to spy on Morris, but she didn't want to do it alone. And we really were there to support Alice. The way the day turned out, I would have much rather spent it studying with you."

"Really?"

She nodded, then reached over, twining her fingers with his. It was something they did when they were younger and still did on occasion when they were alone and wanted the closeness. "Shelley ditched us after the tryouts were over to go follow Morris and Alice wanted be to commiserate with her over her poor attempt at Keeping. I was miserable. If I wanted a play-by-play of Quidditch, I would tune in when Potter started talking."

Chuckling, Severus squeezed her fingers. "So you'd rather study plants with boring old me than have a girl thing about_ those awesome Quidditch boys_?" he asked, affecting a higher voice similar to most of the female Quidditch fans.

Lily leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "Every time."


End file.
